Bitcoin is an “exponential, parabolic bubble,” and bitcoin investors are “arrogant, ignorant, clueless” zealots and fanatics. That’s the opinion of avowed crypto-hater Nouriel Roubini, an economics professor at New York University.

Roubini made the remarks in an interview with the CFA Institute, where he again trashed cryptocurrencies as worthless and its proponents as mouth-breathing morons.

Bitcoiners are Ignorant ‘Zealots and Fanatics’

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﻿﻿ Roubini says he doesn’t understand how bitcoin enthusiasts can be so clueless and gullible because it’s obvious to him that the entire industry is a massive scam.

“I engage on Twitter and also have attended many of these crypto or blockchain conferences. I met some of these individuals.”

“I’ve never seen in my life people who on one side are so arrogant in their views — who are total zealots and fanatics about this new asset class — while at the same time completely and totally ignorant of basic economics, finance, money, banking, central banking, and monetary policy.”

“They want to reinvent everything about money, but most of them are absolutely, totally clueless. The ratio between arrogant and ignorant is astounding. I have never seen such a gap in my life.”

Despite his pathological hatred of bitcoin, Roubini obsessively talks about it. Why? Because he knows that it gets media attention. In fact, his anti-bitcoin bile has fueled his internet fame.

Roubini Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It

Critics note that while Roubini can dish out the volcanic vitriol, the thin-skinned academic can’t take the slightest criticism.

Many in the crypto ecosystem joke that Roubini immediately blocks them on Twitter the second they disagree with him or try to engage him in a civil debate.

Laughably, Roubini insists that his Twitter interactions have only reaffirmed his anti-bitcoin animus and his position that crypto investors are total idiots.

“Twitter and in-person interactions with the fans of cryptocurrencies made me stronger and more secure in my belief.”

Again: That’s ironic because Roubini blocks anyone on Twitter who disagrees with him. Someone even created a satirical video underscoring this habit.

Forecasting Financial Apocalypse for Years

Nouriel Roubini is an economics perma-bear who has been forecasting a worldwide financial collapse for years. In fact, his “specialty” is identifying financial bubbles. That means he constantly looks for the cloud in the silver lining.

In this way, Roubini is similar to Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale University. Like Roubini, Shiller specializes in spotting financial bubbles. Accordingly, Shiller spends much of his time going predicting that a recession is around the corner.

But unlike Roubini, Robert Shiller has won the Nobel Prize (in 2013). And even then, Shiller’s predictions are not always accurate.

‘Overhyped’ Blockchain is No Better Than Excel

Because the stock market and the economy are cyclical, Nouriel Roubini has sometimes been correct when he claimed a crash was around the corner. After all, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

In 2012, Roubini predicted that 2013 would usher in a global financial crisis. That never happened.

He has been incorrect in other economic projections over the years, and never foresaw that the crypto industry would enjoy the meteoric rise it has during the past three years. But he wants you to take his word that crypto and even blockchain is totally worthless.

About The Author

Samantha Chang is a financial editor who writes about politics at BizPac Review and about business at CCN. She is a law school graduate and an alum of the University of Pennsylvania who enjoys finance, flowers, and fitness. You can follow her on Twitter at Samantha_Chang.